The Ecohydrology Group at the University of Delaware seeks to improve our knowledge of the hydrology and biogeochemistry of forested ecosystems. Our research employs a combination of field and laboratory work and has been funded by the US National Science Foundation, the Humboldt Foundation, and the Association of American Geographers, as well as private foundations. Past and current research has taken place in the temperate broadleaved deciduous forest biome of the eastern United States, mountainous regions of China on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, the Swiss Alps near Davos, tropical rainforests of Panama, and beech forests of east-central Germany.

Our research is centered on the hydrology and biogeochemistry of forests. Just four examples of current research include:

The effects of the woolly beech aphid on forest biogeochemistry (with Prof. B. Michalzik, University of Jena, funded by Humboldt Foundation)

The North East Water Resources Network (NEWRnet) project to combine cutting-edge science and sensors in watershed hydrology and biogeochemistry with real-time decision-making capabilities for stakeholders (with Profs. D. Leathers, S. Inamdar, K. Messner, W. Ullman, and S. Andres, Delaware Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Universities of Vermont and Rhode Island, funded by US NSF)

Other research includes: (1) using the LaserBark™ automated tree measurement system (co-invented by Prof. Levia, license agreement signed) to better understand the cortisphere; (2) the effects of stemflow on soil respiration and microbial and fungal composition in forest soils in relation to carbon cycling (with Dr. Carl Rosier, funded by US NSF through CRB-CZO); (3) examining bark microrelief on tropical trees in Panama in relation to ant mobility (with Dr. S. Yanoviak, University of Louisville and John Van Stan, Georgia Southern University, funded by US NSF); and (4) particulate matter dynamics in European beech forests (with Prof. B. Michalzik, University of Jena, funded by Humboldt Foundation).

Building upon initial NSF funding, further work is planned with Drs. Martin Schneebeli and Peter Bebi of the Swiss Federal Snow and Avalanche Institute in Davos, Switzerland, that will examine the coupled dynamics of the shifting avalanche hazard in relation to climate change from both physical and social science perspectives.